All Forum Posts by: Scott W.

Hi All-

Does anyone have any experience (or worked with any lenders) where the Seller takes on a 2nd mortgage as part of the down payment amount?  For example, buying a $4M property that normally requires 25% ($1M) down and the other 75% ($3M) as a first mortgage -- are there lenders that will allow for a $3M first mortgage, a $500K cash down payment and a Seller carried 2nd mortgage of the other $500K.  The Buyer still has skin-in-the-game and the 1st mortgage holder is still in first position with the same risk that they normally would have on the property.

Any help would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks...

When buying out of state office/retail properties, do you always visit the property first prior to putting in an offer... or do you put in an offer first (solely based on the numbers), and once you agree to terms with the Seller, then you visit the property as part of due diligence process? Thanks

Thanks all. George - I've definitely been taking the "last" approach -- letting the property sit and waiting till the Seller's circumstances change and then coming in with an offer that makes a lot of sense for me -- far under asking -- and then doing added negotiations during due diligence to lower price even further. Would love to find more off market deals but haven't been able to find them to date -- will keep networking and working at it though. In my area, there's some major players that all the brokers go to first -- difficult to break in ahead of those guys that have been around for decades and close fast with no headaches...

Thanks Ryan - so do u find all of your deals through broker relationships?

I've been primarily using Loopnet to find commercial office/retail deals.  I have to sift through a LOT of crap to find some good nuggets -- and keep going back to the site to check on properties that have been on the market for awhile, staying in touch with the brokers until the Sellers are finally willing to make a deal to then make it a good investment opportunity.

What other tools are investors on BP using to find commercial deals (I also reach out to brokers on Loopnet and tell them what i'm looking for -- but often times, i feel many brokers just go to their preferred investors once a deal pops up and the deal doesn't even make it on the listing sites) Residential seems slightly easier to find deals not on listing services... but my interest and experience is on the commercial side.  Are commercial investors on this site using direct mail and if so, how specifically?

Thanks...

I am about to close on a property on Loopnet.  My belief is that the good one's that are initially priced right for an investor go pretty fast.  But, there's also properties that the Seller may put on at a high price, it stays on for awhile and then circumstances change and the Seller is then willing to discuss a lower price making it a far better deal for an investor.  I scour Loopnet quite a bit looking for commercial deals and do a lot of analyzing of deals, talking with brokers, etc... but the deal i actually did was listed for $4M -- it sat for awhile, then was under contract for a while and fell through -- and i ended up getting for $2.575M due to the Seller's circumstances changing and them finally being willing to take a lower price.  Hope that helps...

thanks all! 

Originally posted by @Derek Rice:

I travel that way to go to a Bass Pro Shops at a mall in that area. If I'm not mistaken, Bass Pro is the ONLY store in the entire mall, or one of very few. And I do believe they are building a new building and moving out sometime this year as well. If that is the building you're looking at, it better be cheap and you better have the cash reserves to hold it for years while you try to revive it. Other than that one mall I know very little about the area, and I'm also a newbie in commercial, so take what I say accordingly. Lol Good Luck!

Thanks Derek - it's actually a different property.  I prefer value-add deals that are cash flow positive at inception -- i personally stay away from any deal that sucks money each month while waiting to fill it up with tenants...

Hi All-

Most deals I've done (all commercial property) have either been with my own $ or myself along with close business partners. I'm looking to expand my real estate investing and wanted to know; "Do you gain money commitment from investors 'before' you have a signed Letter of Intent on a specific property (ie: tell others what you are planning on doing in general terms with your real estate investing and get a commitment from them to be willing to put in $X in deals you do - whether it's 1 deal or 10 deals)... or do you agree with a Seller on LOI terms on a specific property and then go out and find the money needed to fund the specific deal?" I'm talking primarily through personal connections (not full syndication) but would like to know if there's any difference (other then the legalities, rules, paperwork filing, etc...) with how it would be handled between the two...

Thanks in advance... 

The names of any lenders who do non-recourse loans for Ohio commercial office/retail would be greatly appreciated! Looking for lenders who will do strong cash flow properties with 75%-80% LTV...